Jessica Kaminski, of Middleton, has plenty to celebrate this holiday season. She's taking a break from a difficult fight. In the spring of 2016, Kaminski was diagnosed with stage 4 rectal cancer. She said keeping life as normal as possible for her two young boys has not been easy.

"They're not really old enough to understand what's going on. They know that I'm sick, and sometimes I need to see different doctors," Kaminski said.

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For her first year of treatment, her doctors were in Boston, but tumors continued to grow. She was told chemotherapy for the rest of her life was the only option left. Then, after some research, she and her husband Kevin found a promising new treatment in New York. Kevin Kaminski said the challenge was the distance.

"It's very difficult getting down there. Driving, it's a solid five hours, no matter how you slice it," Kaminski said.

A friend suggested flying, and found people who make that feasible -- pilots like Lee Cooprider, who take patients in need of far-away medical care where they need to go, for free. These pilots volunteer for Angel Flight Northeast. Larry Camerlin founded the nonprofit organization after selling an ambulance company.

"We started at Beverly airport with three pilots and an eight by ten office,” Camerlin said. “Now here 21 years later, we have 1,500 pilots and have flown more than 74,000 children and adults more than 15 million miles. It's awesome."

With headquarters now at Lawrence airport, they're currently flying people to 189 medical centers in 33 states. All the pilots donate their time and fuel.

"I love doing it, so this is my major charitable contribution of the year every year," said Cooprider, a retired math teacher.

Flying to her treatments in New York has given Kaminski precious time with her sons.

"I do get hours back that I get to spend with them, and every hour that I have I cherish," Kaminski said.

The trips also resulted in major progress in her cancer battle. Kaminski was just told she can stop chemotherapy.

"I'm essentially cancer-free right now,” Kaminski said. “I have all this time, I'm going to be feeling well, spend(ing) the holidays with my family. Just to have that, and know I'm going to feel good, is amazing."

Kaminski will still need to travel to New York to be monitored. Angel Flight Northeast will continue to fly her. They fly patients for as long as they need, and as often as they need. In addition to the private pilots, commercial airline partners including JetBlue, Cape Air and PenAir allow Angel Flight Northeast to fly patients throughout the country and internationally.